Zooming in on the spiral galaxy NGC 247

This sequence starts with a view of a rather empty part of the southern sky, far from the Milky Way. As we zoom in we can see the spiral galaxy NGC 247, lying about 11 million light-years from us in the constellation of Cetus (The Whale). We also catch a glimpse of the bright Sculptor galaxy NGC 253, which lies close to NGC 247. The final detailed view shows a new image of NGC 247 from the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile.